July & August 2009

Summer is ending - mornings and nights are growing cooler, and crickets are starting to chirp at night. How did you spend your summer vacation? Our summer school program ended with lots of fun activities with the children.
In July, they enjoyed a variety of craft projects and sold them at the KNI "Marketplace" held at the end of the month.
In August, under a scorching sun, they also had a wonderful time finger-painting, blowing bubbles, playing with water, and much more.
Now, September is just around the corner, and we are looking forward to seeing how they have grown during their vacation!

We are grateful that so many children came to celebrate Tanabata at the Huntington Library, and it was very nice to see them wearing Yukatas and Jinbeis.
They enjoyed Origami crafts and used them to decorate three tall bamboo branches.
They also enjoyed story time, and sang Japanese summer songs.
They brought part of the bamboo branches home for their families. It was a wonderful way to experience Japanese Tanabata customs.

The long-awaited KNI "Marketplace" was open on July 29th, 30th, 31st at the Church hall.
Cakes, pastries, box lunch, sushi... They all looked so delicious! Cute dresses, costumes, shoes that you could actually wear, as well as the latest flat-screen TVs were all on sale! They all looked so real, but these were actually crafts the children made during summer classes. They were all very well-made!
Some children pretended to be customers asking prices, while other children pretended to be shop owners. We also had a game corner and a karaoke station. The children seemed very focused on choosing gifts for their families and looked very satisfied with their shopping bags full of stuff! We can't wait for the KNI marketplace next year!

Our annual "Sleepover" was held on August 7th, 8th. First, the children cooked KNI's special curry rice using carrots, eggplants, and bell peppers from the KNI garden, and they made watermelon boats for dessert. They were very delicious and some children had extra bowls of curry rice - even children who usually don't like vegetables enjoyed the curry.
After dinner, they enjoyed a KNI Haunted house. Some children sang out loud when entering, some started crying, but they all showed how brave they were. They also enjoyed fireworks, and slept in sleeping bags. This year we had six volunteers who came to help the teachers.

What a surprise! In the middle of KNI garden sat two huge pumpkins! We didn't seed these, and the children enjoyed guessing what they were until they grew. We harvested cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, and bell peppers as we did in the past, and we added strawberries this year. Another surprise was the carrots. We planted them to use for curry during the sleepover dinner, but there were far more than we could eat, and they all looked great - just like the ones you see at the supermarket. We also harvested salad leaves for the rabbits. With all the vegetables, the curry came out wonderful, and three big empty pots showed how much the children liked it.
Thank you so much for helping composting!

On August 20th, 21st, the Church hall was filled with children's laughter. It was the last event of the summer program, the Giant maze!
The maze was two meters high, made with 600 newspapers. The children in the Thursday class enjoyed the easy course five times, and the children in the Friday class paired up and took a little more challenging course which required them to break codes and answer questions. After reaching the goal, they all enjoyed cold snacks as a treat.

Have you registered yet?
For parents whose children are entering the Sakura class, please let us know your child's kindergarten schedule.
Please call us at 626- 286- 4572 if you have any questions, need to change classes, or are moving. Please leave your message and your phone number if we don't answer. We will call you back ASAP.
You can also contact us via e-mail (info@kodomonoie.us)